Mrs rktman and I are feeling blessed and thankful to share this and hope it helps someone.
In June of 2018 my primary care at the VA performed his usual exam and during the stethoscope check of my neck heard some restrictions on the left carotid. He ordered an ultrasound and the results indicated about a 40% obstruction of the left internal artery and no action was recommend at that time. Blood work indicated decent cholesterol numbers. I had no symptoms that anything was amiss. No issues appeared in subsequent visits. Then the COVID shutdown, forced us to doing “tele-health”, which kept us from doing any “hands on” checks for 2020. Finally, able to get an in person visit in mid July of this year, my primary again listened to my carotids and said another ultrasound was in order. This time the results were dramatically changed and indicated a 70% blockage at the left internal artery. A consult with a vascular surgeon at the Reno VA in the middle of August was conducted and the surgeon recommend performing an endarterectomy and NOT doing a stent since, in his opinion, during that procedure some plaque could be dislodged leading to a stroke. Seemed reasonable to me and we scheduled the surgery for Sept 8. Well, that is now done. The surgeon indicated that the actual blockage was closer to 90%. They kept me in ICU post op overnight due to the nature of the surgery. Overnight recovery went well and I was discharged by noon on Sept 9th. I was, and still am, swollen and discolored and some nerve trauma to the left side nerve that controls facial movement. They indicated that it may take a month or so to resolve. Not much pain at all. The thing is, I had no clue. I never felt bad or fatigued or confused and my lab work for the most recent tests (and previous tests)showed total cholesterol was 164 with the HDL being 46 and LDL being 98. So a word of caution in case your medical folks don’t regularly check you for this, even if your cholesterol numbers look good, HAVE THEM DO IT. Mrs rktman and I are extremely thankful to my primary care folks, the surgeon and support folks at the Reno VA hospital that are trained and blessed to be able to do these things. Besides, I still got a lot of music to play.
Get it checked. It can be one of those : "He was perfectly fine and then dropped like a stone!" moments.
Happy you are doing well. My mom had severe blockage in neck several years ago, and I don’t think she had known symptoms before hand either. I think they found it accidentally.
Cholesterol numbers are not always indicative. It depends on the type. Carotid scans are the best way to find out. I didn’t have plaque but I had “old arteries”. Zocor fixed that.
Glad to hear it all worked out well for you. Modern medicine is amazing and we are all so thankful for these great procedures that fix us up, gets us well, and grant us more years on earth.
My FIL had the roto-rooter operation on his carotid maybe 20 years ago and it went very well for him. Like you, he had no signs beforehand. He lasted quite a few years, maybe a decade, after that operation.
Back in 2015, when I was admitted with symptoms that later turned out to be gall bladder attacks, the first thing they did was check my heart. A Cardiologist came, and had some tests done on me, and I’ve continued to see him once a year since then. And once a year I have an Echocardiogram, and an ultrasound of my carotid arteries. I have a thickening of the wall of one of my heart chambers, and he keeps track of that with the yearly Echo. My carotid ultrasounds have shown only mild plaque, and although I’ve had a heart murmur my whole like, on my last Echo this past March, they could find no sign of it. I’m 74.
Happened to me... Except I was 99 percent.. they found out mine was deformed, and made me a new one...
Been 15 years and all is well... I still have no feeling in my neck around the scar...
Shaving will take some getting used to...
I told everyone I know, have your primary doctor listen to your coratids every visit
I had my right carotid artery about 80% blocked earlier this year, so had surgery to clear it very quickly. No symptoms, and left carotid was/is fine. Post surgery went fine; no pain. Was told on follow-up that it was “wide open.” Just came out of nowhere, and is a good example of why regular medical exams are so important.
Thanks for posting. I got checked about two years ago by scan (on my own volition) and they said I was looking good. Good reminder for the doctor to check it too.
All good outcome. And just in time.
Atherosclerosis that has radiated up in the arteries to the brain (the carotids) are vulnerable to “peeling” off and then pushed up into the brain for a vascular stroke. Hope they have checked your coronary arteries that supply the heart, first, with oxygenated blood. The “crown” of the corona arteries are supplied first out of the heart from the aorta. The atorvastatin should really help reduce the amount of LDL that can get into an artery lesion and make it susceptible to breaking off. Glad they caught all this.
You are Blessed!
Saw a guy at work have a stroke in front of me. We got the ambulance there in time before serious damage was done
I have a partial clog in my right carotid artery. I have it checked every year and so far I am fine I do what I am told and get plenty of exercise.
I suppose at some point I may have to have something done.
Good on ya!
I have had some blockage on right side inner for several years. Cardiologist does ultrasound every six months to monitor. Stable at <50%. Never had any symptoms or even ideas there was an issue. Hopefully will stay this way.
Glory to God for His providential working. But all that matters is that you were vaxxed and masked:)
Been there. Done that. I’ll note that my neck has never completely recovered after the surgery. It still feels “funny” but who cares. Compared with strokes, it’s nothing.
A year after the surgery by the chief of vascular surgery at Mass Gen, I returned with a series of mini strokes. Turns out that the problem caused by the surgery ended up with the artery worse than it started. But, luckily, he and his partner had invented a new (and totally FASCINATING) procedure to protect against the plaque that ends up dislodged. So all ended up well.
But believe them when they say to keep checking with ultrasounds. I only knew to have it originally checked because mother had the procedure in both carotids. So also looking at your own family history is important.
Glad that you are doing okay. Your story gives me an opportunity to tell freepers to push to get their normal tests and medical visits done.
One of our SIL’s was just buried, possibly because it is so hard to see an md for our regular checkups.
3 months ago, she was having shoulder pains and dropped by her internist’s office to get a steroid shot for her shoulder.
Before she left, something must have triggered his warning system.
He asked how she was feeling, and she said besides the shoulder, she was feeling some chest pains and shortness of breath. The 2 magic complaints to get the good doctors moving and asking for tests and help.
He ordered a full range of lab tests and told her to stop at the lab before they drove the hour home.
She did and in a few hours, she got a cell phone call from her doctor telling her not stay home. To grab a change of clothes and her meds and check in the local hospital. Her red blood cell count was next to zero. As soon as she was in her room, they gave her 2 units of blood.
Which helped her breathing.
However, she was basically in end stage adult leukemia. The hematologist started treatment which made her miserable.
They got her stable and sent her home on her demand. Like my wife, this SIL was an RN for all of her adult life time and watched her health, her husband, adult children and grand kids. So she knew what was happening.
She went back to the hospital and received some current therapy, again she felt worse. Her oncologist and hematologist were in contact with 2 two teaching hospitals with solid reps re her disease.
They advised her to go home and stay off any treatment. She did and the leukemia got worse.
She made the decision to go home and have hospice treat her.
She passed last weekend. She was never in pain and all of her immediate family were with her.
Here’s another carotid artery story. Some years ago, my eyesight began to deteriorate, which led to a series of exams, an MRI, and then an operation to remove a pituitary tumor. Growing slowly over decades, the tumor had begun to compress my optic nerve and my carotid artery. But for the removal of the tumor, it would have soon caused a major stroke either killing or disabling me.
I am glad you mentioned that because many hospitals will not operate on your carotid artery until it reaches 80% blocked.
On my last stroke (3rd) I collapsed, couldn't speak English for awhile, and totally lost my left side, and started to lose vision in my left eye.
I was in a Boston hospital that decided to do my right corotid artery and I insisted only one surgeon at Brigham and Womens Hospital, also in Boston, was going to cut me open.
Bottom line: at 1:30 AM a doctor in B&W came in a told me he was going to recommend That I did not get The operation in the morning, because tests showed it was ONLY 60% blocked, and the right side artery would not cause me to lose vision in my left eye.
They really couldn't pinpoint the cause of my strokes ,except to get my 220 blood pressure down to a normal range.
High blood pressure won't of itself cause a stroke, but it usually causes something else in the body to rupture, shear off, or fail, and down you go.
Don't get alarmed about carotid artery blockages until they get over 60%. Have them checked regularly.
A problem with a stroke is if you fall and smash you head or eye - in the hospital you will have to be treated for two problems.-Tom
There are supplements that can reverse both types of plaques, but we really need to stop with the simple sugar sources.
A lot of dentist’s are now doing extensive neck checks and I believe their x-rays can pick up some blockages.
I am getting ready to have a cartoid artery duplex scan. The only reason I am getting it is because I pushed for it
After it was scheduled I now have started getting random cheyne stokes respiration issues on CPAP for some unknown reason
You really do have to be proactive on your health care. Drs miss so much.
Years ago (decades), my mother’s primary care physician (and Dad’s, and mine) did the same exam on Mom. Her carotid was massively blocked. She went straight to the hospital and the operating room...do not pass Go, do not collect $200. The Doc saved her life.
I’m glad you were as fortunate.